


River

by petiteneko



Series: 10 Days of lawlu 2019 [4]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Inner Dialogue, M/M, Surgery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-12 13:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19133056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petiteneko/pseuds/petiteneko
Summary: Many described death as a river. A cold, colourless current that sapped your strength and life force from your body. A tempting relaxation that captured and carried you away from everything you know and love.





	River

**Author's Note:**

> I did a collab with the wonderful novicecomics! You can see the artwork: https://official-novicecomics.tumblr.com/post/185453006946
> 
> 10 days of lawlu 2019 prompt: Wounds

Throughout his lifetime, Law had treated many patients. Some were sick, some were injured. At the start of his career, it had been mostly the former, but as he progressed and became a pirate the balance had shifted so that it was mostly injuries as opposed to illnesses that he treated. Thankfully, the vast majority of them had been minor, but there definitely were times where the person on his table had quite literally placed their life in his hands.

Hands that had _DEATH_ inked into them.

Law held fate in his hands. Life. Death. It boiled down to him. Him and the extent of their wounds or illnesses, of course. (There were some things that even Law could not fix - could not _heal._ )

Aside from his own illness, the first time it had been Penguin and Shachi - shrapnel and marks littering their body, an arm blown off… And then Volff and his accident with his newest invention. And as he interned at the clinic, the number of incidents had gradually increased over the year. Which was followed by his own crew - _other_ crews…

And now - now Law had two pirate captains bleeding out on his table, too unconscious to even _ask_ for the help that Law had volunteered.

_DEATH._

He worked long. Worked hard. Putting the two of them back together. Fixing their burns and their wounds. And, now, the rest of the work depended on his patients. On their will to live and push through. Law had no concern about the Warlord - he had too much to live for and determination to the point where it put him in jail.

It was the other Supernova, however, that Law was truly concerned about. Law could only remember hearing his scream through the snailphone. Could only imagine just how much mental trauma the strawhat had been through. Even the physical trauma had been severe. There was more than just that injury he sustained that endangered his life. (There had been so much internal damage that Law could only marvel at just how he had _even participated_ in a war that was so above their level.)

So Law could only wonder: did Luffy have what it took to resist the pull of death? Or, would he let the river take him away and down into its suffocating depths despite the helping hands offered to him?

(Many described death as a river. A cold, colourless current that sapped your strength and life force from your body. A tempting relaxation that captured and carried you away from everything you know and love.)

Those hands had been the Warlord who took him away from the admiral. It had been that flying clown that carried them further when the warlord could not. And then, it had been his. His hands that dove into that river. To pull Luffy to the surface and fix his wounds. _Allowing_ Luffy to make that choice: Life, or death?

And, yes, there had always been the case where death’s pull had been too strong for Law to bring them to the surface. Where Law could not revive the patient on his table because their wounds were too severe, the blood loss was too much, the illness too far progressed… But, thankfully, this was not the case. If anything was too damaged - it would be Luffy’s spirit.

And, as Law stared at the young captain, holding his namesake, he could only wonder…

Just _what_ would Luffy choose?

.xxx.

News Coos did not fly over a supposedly uninhabited island, so when Mugiwara no Luffy had - quite literally - come flying back into his life, Law had been a little taken aback by it all. And, while he had been aware that the Strawhats had resurfaced, Law definitely was not expecting their presence on this island. Was not expecting Luffy to charge up at him, a smile on his face and grateful to the man who had pulled him out of death's doorsteps. (And, if he was honest, he half-expected Luffy to blame him for keeping him alive.) And, most definitely, Law **was not** expecting for his own handiwork to be broadcasted to the world every time the Strawhat made the news. (Which, knowing Luffy, would be quite frequently.)

Most people hid their scars. Some thought of them as weaknesses. Some as mistakes. Some as blemishes. But, not Luffy. He purposely wore clothes that exposed his chest. Unbuttoned his shirts. Took off jackets as soon as physically possible… (which was how Law noticed it in the first place…)

And, as Law stared at it. At the marking that he stitched together, he could only remember it when it was red and raw and still oozing blood. Remember when he placed his hand there, feeling as a heart beat under his fingers and a chest rose and fell with every breath. Remember when he had asked himself:

Would that river take this patient from him, too, or could Law steal, once more, from the river that was death? Would Luffy lay there, and float away from him, or would the Supernova sit up and fight?

And, as Law continued to stare and watch as Luffy pummelled the enemies before him, he only was able to see those results - quite literally.

Luffy - he would not go down with a fight, and would proudly display that fact.

(Would proudly display _his_ success. Because now, now the world would never forget the one who saved Mugiwara no Luffy from the brink of _death._ )

Despite himself, Law found himself smiling.

Luffy, he had healed up quite nicely.


End file.
